Car-train crash injures Amherst woman

AMHERST — A 52-year-old Amherst woman was injured when the car she was driving collided with a train about 8:55 p.m. Sunday.

Kathleen Sisler, address unavailable, was hospitalized at Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center in Toledo, said police Sgt. Dan Makruski. Her condition was unavailable late Sunday. The accident occurred at the railroad crossing on Crosse Road.

Police and paramedics needed about five minutes to remove Sisler from the black four-door Chevrolet Malibu, which sustained extensive passenger-side damage. Sisler was conscious when removed from the car, said police Officer Bob Lane, who helped get her out.

Lane said Sisler said she didn’t see the train and thought she stopped before the tracks. Sisler was headed north when she was hit by the westbound Norfolk Southern Railway train. The cause of the crash remained under investigation Sunday night.

The 114-car train was coming from Conway, Pa., outside Pittsburgh, and headed to Chicago, said Dave Pidgeon, a Norfolk Southern spokesman. Pidgeon wrote in an email that the conductor and engineer were uninjured. The train remained stopped at 10:30 p.m.